Military News

Sunday, February 08, 2015

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2015 – Europe and the United States
tried to bring Russia into the community of nations in a constructive manner,
but Russian President Vladimir Putin has other ideas, Vice President Joe Biden
said yesterday in Munich.

Russia’s actions against Ukraine, its bullying of
neighboring nations and its repression of dissent at home worry U.S. and
European leaders, and they must remain focused against the threat, Biden said
at the annual Munich Security Conference.

“America and Europe are being tested,” the vice president
said. “President Putin has to understand that as he has changed, so has our
focus.”

Western leaders have moved from resetting relations with
Russia to reasserting the fundamental bedrock principles on which European
freedom and stability rest, Biden said=: inviolate borders, no spheres of
influence and the sovereign right to choose alliances.

‘We Have to be Laser-focused on the Greater Threat’

“To protect these important principles,” he added, “we have
to be laser-focused on the greater threats to the project of a Europe whole,
free, and at peace.”

The vice president said world powers need to be united in
support of Ukraine, and that what happens there will resonate well beyond
Ukraine. Russia has gone back on freely achieved agreements, he said, and that
should matter to countries around the world.

“Russia needs to understand that as long as it continues its
current course, the United States, and, God willing, all of Europe and the
international community, will continue to impose costs on their violation of
basic international norms,” Biden said.

Russia’s president promised peace and a cease-fire, and
instead launched troops and tanks and aircraft, the vice president said. The
United States “will continue to provide Ukraine with security assistance, not
to encourage war but to allow Ukraine to defend itself,” he added.

“Let me be clear,” Biden said. “We do not believe there is a
military solution in Ukraine. But let me be equally clear: we do not believe
Russia has the right to do what they are doing. We believe we should attempt an
honorable peace. But we also believe the Ukrainian people have a right to
defend themselves.”

Urges Russia to Comply With Minsk Agreement

Biden called for Russia to go back to the agreement it
signed at Minsk with the Ukrainian government in September. This calls for the
full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the return of control over the
international border to Ukraine and to develop a robust international
monitoring mission on the Ukrainian-Russian border.

“It’s fully within the power of Moscow to stop the separatists
from pursuing the military solution,” Biden said.

The objective, he said, is to preserve the territorial
integrity of Ukraine.

“Let me state as clearly as I can what is not our objective
-- it is not the objective of the United States … to collapse or weaken the
Russian economy,” he said. “That is not our objective. But President Putin has
to make a simple, stark choice: Get out of Ukraine or face continued isolation
and growing economic costs at home.”

The GEOINT Professional Certification (GPC) captures the
fundamental facts, concepts, and principles that are shared by GEOINT
practitioners across the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG). The
Navy COOL website now provides prospective candidates information regarding all
aspects of GPC, eligibility, registration, and assessment processes.

"Navy COOL's display of the National System for
Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) GEOINT Professional Certification (GPC) Program
information provides an additional level of awareness to our Navy's
intelligence workforce," said Keith Boring, the program manager for the
Navy Credential Program Office. "Certifications continue to show employers
the level of knowledge and competency attained by the certification holder,
which holds true within the Department of Defense and military services as much
as it does in the civilian sector."

The Office of Naval Intelligence, Fleet Intelligence
Specialists Team (ONI FIST) executes the Navy's GEOINT certification program.
Four proficiency levels (PL), accompany each certification tradecraft
functional area. PL-I represents GEOINT Fundamentals and is common to all NSG
GEOINT analyst work roles. PL-II certification is specific to each GEOINT
tradecraft such as imagery analyst (IA), geospatial analyst (GA), image
scientist (IS) or GEOINT collection (GC) and denotes full performance in a work
role. PL-III and -IV denote advanced and expert, levels respectively.

The GPC is available to uniformed Navy and civilian
personnel who are performing specific work roles associated with GEOINT
tradecrafts such as enlisted intelligence specialist, intelligence officer and
Department of the Navy civilians in the capacity of imagery analysts and GEOINT
collection managers.

"This is an important step forward and reflects upon a
great effort to help today's Sailors and civilians accomplish certifications in
the geospatial intelligence field and many other disciplines. It is good to see
the maturation of this approach to providing the opportunity to gain useful
skills and to document them for not only current Navy jobs but for future
career development," said Will Gallaway, NGA Support Team - Navy located
at CID.

The development of the GPC is part of a larger
Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (USDI) initiative to further
professionalize the Defense Intelligence Enterprise Workforce. The GPC ensures
that credentialed GEOINT practitioners are certified to have demonstrated
proficiency in a common set of competencies. This certification process
facilitates professional development and training standards, promotes better
synchronization and alignment of individual capabilities with DoD Intelligence
Enterprise needs through transportable credentials, and the further
professionalization of the workforce.

With a staff of nearly 1,300 military, civilian and
contracted staff members, CID oversees the development and administration of
more than 226 courses at four commands, two detachments and 14 learning sites
throughout the United States and in Japan. CID provides training for
approximately 24,000 members of the U.S. Armed Services and Allied Forces each
year.

"I am very excited to participate in today's ceremony
as we celebrate your successes and accomplishments that brought you here,"
said Tighe. "You are the operating force of the Navy and are the best
leaders our domain has to offer."

"I am proud of all of our nominees and I encourage each
of you to continue to represent yourself and our community positively,"
Tighe continued.

The winners were chosen from a group of 10 Sailors
representing various commands from throughout Fleet Cyber Command's worldwide
operational forces.

"It is truly an honor to be selected as shore Sailor of
the Year," said Pollard. "First and foremost, I would like to thank
my family. They have been my biggest supporters and I would not be here today
without them."

Pollard and Livingston were grateful for the experience and
are looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"I am just excited to be a part of the selection
process," said Livingston. "My success is more a reflection of the
support I have received at NIOC Whidbey Island and throughout my entire Navy
career."

Pollard will next compete at the Vice Chief of Naval
Operations level competition for Shore SOY on Feb. 18. The winner of that
competition goes on to compete for the Chief of Naval Operations Shore Sailor
of the Year.

Livingston will compete next at Navy Information Dominance
Forces Sea Sailor of the Year competition in Norfolk, Va., March 1-6 March.

U.S. Fleet Cyber Command reports directly to the Chief of
Naval Operations as an Echelon II command and is responsible for Navy Networks,
Cryptology, Signals Intelligence, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare,
Cyber, and Space. As such, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command serves as the Navy
Component Command to U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command, and the
Navy's Service Cryptologic Component Commander under the National Security
Agency/Central Security Service, exercising operational control of Fleet Cyber
Command mission forces through TENTH Fleet (C10F).

C10F is the operational arm of Fleet Cyber Command and
executes its mission through a task force structure similar to other warfare
commanders.